"Light, Kithra I love you and it kills me to see you like
this." The words echoed through the bleakness in her
mind, reverberating endlessly off the bars her guilt had created
around her soul. An emotionless mask had covered her face,
her gaze withdrawn as she hesitantly turned away from the anguish in his voice and entered the shelter and comfort offered by the trees. Her steps followed no path, simply taking her through the mass of aged trunks, the leaves whispering under foot.
I...... A silken ribbon, the hues and colors of Nature's splendor, wove a pattern between the bars of the cage......warm, rich brown, the color of fertile soil, verdant green like lush grass touched by the morning's dew, golden yellow as bright as the sun's first rays, opening her eyes once more to life's natural pleasures.....
Love.....A halo of soft light surrounded the base of her self made prison, it's brilliance increasing as it rose towards the top, a glorious beacon of hope and life reawakening her soul......
...love....
You..... you.....you....A single whispered note, pure and clear, floated around the whole, borne upon the softest spring breeze, lifting her spirits in ever widening sprirals as it burst through the cage......
I love you..... With a start she realized that once more she was back at the edge of their camp and her gaze found Gangorn standing over a small fire, the aroma of brewing tea and simmering stew wafting throughout the clearing. He is right
..... he has been a true Warder.. Crossing the distance between them, she felt a serenity fall over her. Not
the mask the Aes Sedai wore to cover emotions, but a soul encompassing peace. He looked up as she neared, his face once more inscrutable but his clear gaze watching, measuring her.
"I owe you my thanks and an apology Gangorn. My behavior over the past days has been a danger to myself as well as to you."
The glow from the fire highlighted the planes of his face as he stood before her shaking his head.
"You were never a danger to me, it was for your safety I feared. I vowed to myself that no harm would come to you while I breathed, but I could do nothing against an assault from within."
Drawing herself up, her hands reached automatically to adjust the shawl which normally rested on her shoulders but instead
found the star shaped pendant hanging at her throat. "You have been a true and loyal Warder although nothing bound you to me."
An air of formality surrounded her, her voice dropping into an almost ritual cant as she continued, "Gangorn Atramion, Gaidin of the White Tower, I, Kithra Doran, Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah ask if you would accept becoming my Warder, my sword arm, in the battle against the Dark One and his minions, offering all your skill and knowledge, even your life to the fight for the Light and the White Tower. Do you accept?"
No emotion crossed his face as he went to one knee before her, Caba'doon and Ayende the only witnesses to the bonding unfolding in the moonlit clearing. "I accept Kithra Sedai." Unsheathing his sword, he layed it at her feet, "My sword, my skill, my life are yours, to stand by your side in the Light's struggle, until the last of my breath has left me."
Reaching down she placed her hands atop his head and opened herself to the Source, feeling it's warmth and comfort flow through her. Weaving the flows Kithra focused and felt them wend their way from her hands through Gangorn's being, a deft touch softly brushing his mind and finally coming to rest. A shiver coursed down his back but his gaze remained locked with hers as he rose, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his ancestral sword. Sheathing the blade at his side, the two remained face to face, a world of emotions roiling through their new bond.
He floated alone, a stench in the darkness causing the feel of talons raking his skin. The sound of death and destruction on a planetary scale looked like glowing, molten rock to his eyes. Hot wind blowing across his skin tasted like sour lemons in his mouth. His senses were twisted around, cross-threaded in his brain.
"Where am I?" he whispered.
WHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMI
He winced as the words he heard blinded his eyes in pain, his skin burning like fire from the sudden shard of light.
"Too bright" he said.
TOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHTTOOBRIGHT
Head throbbing, he slammed his eyes shut, but still the taste of lemons bespoke a dry, hot wind blowing in and throughout his purgatory. The strong smell continued to tear at his skin, flailing him alive.
Escape!, he thought. Must escape... With that, a knifeblade thin shard of light appeared in midair, giving the smell of electricity. Sizing into a rectangular hole in space, the smell of the bright light became unbearable and he leapt through the hole, lnading on a field of cool grass. His skin tasted like baked apples against the cool grass, the taste of the morning dew in his mouth making the sound of chirping birds to his ears. He opened his eyes and smelled the freshly cut orange that was the bright sun...
Kithra sat in her room at The White Tower, contemplating the advice that Gangorn had given her. I know that what I did I did for the good of all, yet... Her thoughts trailed off. She could not yet reconcile the loss with her own responsibility. Oh, Light, it hurts! To have that bond ripped so suddenly must be exactly what impaling is like. It hurts so...
Suddenly, she sat bolt upright. A feeling of peace had suddenly come over her, yet also a feeling of confusion. She looked down at the wooden floor and thought for a moment that she could smell wet leather. A knock came on the door and she suddenly was blinded by shafts of bright blue light. Louder the knocking came, increasing the intensity to the point where she screamed, giving off a bright red light. The door slammed open, and the movement smelled like burning oil. She could see Gangorn standing in the doorway, smelling like a newly brushed stallion.
"Kithra! What is wrong?", he yelled, causing a coruscation of colors to attack her sight. She fainted outright from the pain, but Gangorn was faster and caught her before she hit the floor.
The light....the colors....the ...the pain.....Where am I?
"Kithra....Kithra! What happened?" A wave of concern washed over her, carrying her aloft as she struggled to seperate the thoughts and emotions in her mind and escape the throbbing behind her eyes. The Bonding....the clearing...what happened to me... As her lids fluttered open she realized she was in her room, lying upon her bed. Memory returned to her...their Bonding, their return to the Tower, both of them resuming their duties and responsibilities. Sight, sound, smell...all
were back to normal but the memory of what had assailed her senses still lingered. Attempting to sit up she found Gangorn's hand on her shoulder, firmly pushing her back. "Lie down and rest. I was coming to see you and heard you scream. I could feel your pain through the bond, but there was no one here, no visible source of attack." Lowering himself to the edge of the bed he waited, his alert gaze sweeping the room.
Wiping a hand across her brow, Kithra began massaging
her temple, her frown of concentration causing her head to begin throbbing anew. "I'm not sure. I was thinking again of Dahn." Raising her hand she placed it comfortingly on his arm, "Don't worry...I was not reverting back to my dark mood, but I will always carry a certain amount of guilt over what transpired." Closing her eyes, she felt again the sensation of peace which had washed over her previously, trying to pinpoint it's origin. "I don't know....but it felt...familiar somehow."
Shaking his head slowly Gangorn rose and stood for a moment looking down at his Aes Sedai. When will she relinquish the guilt.... "Stay here and rest. I'm going to go find Lila and let her know you won't be available for a bit. Perhaps it was just the strain of the journey which finally caught up to you."
Turning at the door, he noticed she was already falling into a light sleep, but the concern in his eyes stayed as he went in search of the Mistress of Novices.
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